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The artist who is after success lets himself be influenced by the public. Generally such an artist contributes nothing new, for the public acclaims only what it already knows, what it recognizes.

— André Gide Pretexts: Reflections on Literature and Morality (1964)

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More quotes by André Gide

To know how to free oneself is nothing; the arduous thing is to know what to do with one's freedom.

The Immoralist (1902)

There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.

Si le grain ne meurt [If It Die (1924)

The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity.

There is no feeling so simple that it is not immediately complicated and distorted by introspection.

Pretexts: Reflections on Literature and Morality (1964)

Generally among intelligent people are found nothing but paralytics and among men of action nothing but fools.

Pretexts: Reflections on Literature and Morality (1964)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: André Gide (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.